Engineering and Computer Science research

This is the School of Engineering and Computer Science. These are the fields where mankind and machines meet. Where they advance together in exciting, innovative directions.

And our vision is backed up by a robust research track record. The latest Research Excellence Framework ranked our computer science outputs among the UK’s top five for research impact. The same assessment classified 75% of our engineering research as ‘internationally excellent’ or ‘world leading’.

From immersive training tech to carbon capture. From digital speech recovery to eco-friendly biofuel production. We’re improving all our tomorrows by finding solutions to the problems of today.

THE HULL IMMERSIVE VISUALIZATION ENVIRONMENT

The Hull Immersive Visualization Environment (known as HIVE) provides researchers and industrial clients with an array of advanced visualization, motion capture and computer graphics technology. HIVE's resources include a virtual reality immersive cube, VR theatre and gigapixel wall facilities, plus wearable devices which are all available to our researchers.

Research AREAS

The school's research is focused through eight groups, with additional participation from outside the school. These focal areas of research are as follows ...

Robotics and Autonomous Systems / Digital Manufacturing

Robotics and autonomous systems are of massive importance to the competitiveness and innovation potential of Britain's manufacturing industry. It's one of the priority areas of the new UK Government industry policy. The school strives to link in with this field and the area of manufacturing.

Big Data Analytics

Using computational tools for data mining and data reconciliation is of great interest in a society where data flooding is becoming a major problem. Big data is of significant interest to a range of commercial organisation and in particular to the service sector.

Biomedical engineering

With increasing pressure for more effective, more affordable and more accessible healthcare, opportunities in the field of biomedical engineering will continue to increase. Many of these developments will be driven by new materials and technologies, including tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, new imaging modalities and new integrated computational approaches.

Advanced Materials and Manufacturing

Advanced Materials is one of the eight great technologies in which the UK is set to be the global leader. The school has identified advanced materials and manufacturing as one of its most important research themes. This aligns with the national and local manufacturing industry - particularly the expanding offshore renewables sector in the Humber region. The current and future research will focus on two broad directions: design, characterisation and manufacturing of multifunctional materials for demanding applications; and materials manufacturing technology development, process and corrosion monitoring and optimisation.

Virtual Environments and Human-Computer Interaction

This research theme encompasses virtual environments and graphics research on methods and techniques for the analysis and synthesis of images, pattern recognition, image fusion, 3D reconstruction and visualization, computer vision, imaging systems, image search and media technology. It also incorporates human-computer interaction and usability, considering the effective design and use of systems.

Sustainable Built Environment

This group is active in sustainable built environment research, addressing the major concerns of the EU/UK's energy sector. This includes sustainable heating and cooling; renewable energy technologies; solar photovoltaic/thermal technologies; thermo-fluids and CFD; intelligent control and monitoring; heating and cooling materials; simulation and optimisation; as well as socioeconomic and business planning. We expect that the group's research will have significant impact on the UK's economy, environment, industry, employment, health and safety, as well as policy development.

Bio-Based Materials and Biofuels

This domain is generally referred to as 'the bio-base economy'. It's especially relevant to the Humber region, with companies like Croda and Vivergo working in the area. The bio-based economy is an element in the development of a sustainable society. There's an urgent need to develop biofuels on a cost-effective basis, moving away from feed stocks that would introduce competition in the food chain.

Dependable Intelligent Systems / Cyber Security

With the expansion of dependable systems to encompass the wider area of cyber security, this field would likely dominate many other developments in the ICT sector in terms of relevance and job perspectives. Opportunities exist locally through collaborations with KCOM and nationally through cooperation with GCHQ branch in Scarborough and the National Cyber Security Centre.

Research in the Faculty of Science and Engineering

From understanding how the Earth is responding to climate change to developing miniaturised platforms for chemical synthesis, clinical diagnostics and environmental analysis, our research addresses real-world problems.